Morning All, OK the Tilley collection continues to expand with 4 new parts lamps picked up this weekend (2 x 246b's one guards man and one BR) All in a sorry state but workable :-) I have been offered these two Optimus lamps for £20 each, they look like the Anchor lamps but maybe older? Are parts still available and are they too far gone to be worth restoring to a usable condition? Thanks Andy
Hello andy, You did a great shopping I also have the same 1550 I restored what was in a broken state Please light up by all means
O I dont have them yet, will be looking later in the week.... my problem is if I buy one ill start collecting them as well as the Tilley lamps..... Its getting a bit silly now, Plus 4 more from last weekend, 3 more due to be delivered tomorrow and 3 more from the chap with the Optimus lamps.............. I need help !
The lantern on the left is an Anchor lantern and the sticker on the tank is for Blacks of Greenock, who sold camping and fishing equipment amongst other things. In my opinion, the reflector/glass guard is worth the asking price by it's self, the other lantern is an Optimus and is also well worth the asking price in my opinion, but the decision is yours to make. Parts are available, however, some of the Anchor lanterns can be past saving and their value lies in the spares which can be used to repair better quality lanterns of that genre, such as Optimus and Petromax and Hipolito etc.. https://classicpressurelamps.com/threads/1998-hipolito-r-p-advert.1523/
Both could be Optimus lamps. The one on the left could be an Optimus 1551, which is basically an Anchor lamp with different markings. The one on the right is an Optimus 1350 or 1550. No way to tell the difference without seeing the label. The one on the right is the more collectible, but both should be restorable. A lot of the parts like jets and needles are interchangeable with Petromax parts.
@Nils Stephenson I believe the Blacks of Greenock lantern on the left to be A rebranded Anchor. They had a fairly heavy steel ring inserted on the underside of the base to increase stability and enable it to be sold for a short while in the UK. Regards Jeremy
I've not seen a Blacks lantern with the steel ring. They were modified by Relum Ltd and sold as Relum Magnalux lanterns. They could have supplied Blacks as well I guess. It was to make the lanterns conform to the British Standard for lanterns. The other required mod was to block off the pressure release in the filler and fit a new release. The Standard demands that the release has to be permanent and not fitted to a removeable part. And yes I know Vapalux don't meet that standard but they seemed to be able to get away with that one. I was going to buy a copy of this British Standard but as I recall it was near £80 so I never bothered. ::Neil::
@Mackburner Neil, I have just checked and you are correct, of course! My memory served me wrongly and the steel ring is fitted to a Relum Magnalux. Regards Jeremy
@Andy-H it’s the dreaded bug ..... when you’re afflicted, it’s only silly if you pass up a bargain. When you do that you’ll wake up in the dead of night wondering, “why didn’t I get that, someone else will get it now ....... buggeration”. Resistance is useless...... go with your passion Cheers Pete
Yes, to lower the centre of gravity and bring the lantern up to British Standard. There were other modifications required as well as that - re-siting the pressure release screw away from the pressure gauge was one but the other one escapes me at present - perhaps it was something to do with having a positive shut-off valve somewhere or other. Anyway, the Relum Magnalux was the only Petromax-type or Petromax clone to be approved for sale and use in the UK. Not that it seems to have been enforced because thousands of the clanky, fiddly little blighters found their way over here... Edit: Perhaps I should have read Neil's post before writing all that - bah!
I could see that the British Standard sensibly upgraded the level of safety on such lanterns. How does the steel ring on the underside of a Relum Magnalux look like on the lantern? My thoughts: besides improving stability, I'd believe it might function as a reinforcement to prevent the bottom from bulging-out like those found on the X-246-B? The permanently-fitted pressure release doubtlessly makes sense.
